There Is No World For ■■

* * *“I do not mean to reproach you, but true love must be mindful of the time and place.”That was the first thing Corvus said after she called Yeomyeong outside the dormitory.“It is improper for a young man, let alone share a bed, to be in the same room with a woman past marriageable age. Do you understand?”Her tone was like that of an adult admonishing a teen.Although every word she uttered was based on a misunderstanding, Yeomyeong listened quietly without refuting her.Anyone would have easily misunderstood the situation from a moment ago: alone with a snot-covered saintess, on the same bed, no less.At least it was a relief that he hadn’t been caught spanking the Saintess’ buttocks. If Corvus had seen that, it wouldn’t have ended with just a scolding; he would’ve probably been pecked on the head.Anyway, Yeomyeong waited in silence for Corvus’ admonishment to come to an end.He intended to clear up the misunderstanding after she had calmed down… but contrary to his expectations, Corvus showed no sign of stopping.“The Saintess is a great person. To be acknowledged as worthy of her love, you must become a person so great that all her devotees nod in approval…”“They often say that love is about overcoming challenges together. Considering the hardships and trials the two of you will face in the future, you cannot let yourselves be overwhelmed by mere physical desires.”“Dry firewood lasts longer than raw wood, and charcoal lasts longer than dry firewood. True relationships are like this; one must endure the fleeting pleasures…”“…Corvus, hold on, just a moment.”Unable to bear it any longer, Yeomyeong interrupted Corvus’ speech and continued before Corvus could say anything.“There seems to be a misunderstanding. The Saintess and I are not in that sort of a relationship.”“…What?”The crow’s eyes widened in surprise, asking him what on earth he was talking about.“I think you may have misunderstood because of the feather Moryne, or rather, the Blue Rat, gave me. The Saintess and I are just… um, ordinary friends.”“…”“I should have probably informed you last night, but I was in no condition to do so. I apologize.”Was Yeomyeong’s explanation that shocking?Corvus remained speechless for a while, her beak opening and closing.It wasn’t until the students who had finished their meals began returning to the dormitory did she finally speak again.“…Then, are you telling me that the Saintess came to see you in the boys’ dormitory of her own accord?”“I’m not crazy enough to invite the Saintess to the boys’ dormitory.”His answer was straightforward. Corvus then seemed to realize something and snapped her beak shut.“…So, the Saintess came to meet you in the boys’ dormitory of her own will. Is that what you’re saying?”“…”That was another way to interpret it. Yeomyeong brushed his face with his hand and answered.“There were circumstances….”“And those circumstances are most likely related to you, aren’t they?”“Well…”Seeing Yeomyeong frown a little, Corvus pressed on.“Moryne said that she would give the feathers to the one whom the Saintess loves, not to the one who loves the Saintess.”“…”“And from my perspective… this seems to be the exact reason she gave it to you. Though I never expected it to be unrequited love from the Saintess’ end.”Was this how this conversation was going to advance? Yeomyeong shook his head.The Saintess’ love, my foot.Minor misunderstandings kept piling up into a big one.If he were to explain everything about Seti, the Saintess, and himself, he could clear up Corvus’ misunderstanding……But then, Corvus would go after Seti, not me.He alone was enough to handle Moryne’s prank.Yeomyeong sighed and changed the topic.“Um, I think we should stop talking about the Saintess…”“Tsk, it’s never unwelcomed to talk about the teachings of love…”Just as Corvus was about to reply, Yeomyeong raised his hand to interrupt her.“…Please check our surroundings. Do you really need to talk about the Saintess here?”The surroundings? Corvus tilted her head and glanced around, realizing that the area was now filled with first-year students.Some were sneaking glances, others were peering from the dormitory windows, and some were openly staring with curious eyes.And the answer to the question of why was easy to come by.A well-known student from the academy and a giant crow were sitting and chatting in front of the dormitory—could there be a more captivating spectacle after a meal?“I see. I must have gotten too absorbed in the topic of love.”“…I’m glad you realized that now.”Yeomyeong responded with a sullen look. It was a face he made because he couldn’t bring himself to provoke her.Corvus cleared her throat and took off.“For now, follow me.”Corvus said while flapping her wings. Yeomyeong followed her out of the dormitory in silence.Although the students had their eyes fixed on them, none of them were bold enough to shadow them.In any case, Corvus and Yeomyeong quickly headed to the southernmost tip of the island.“…Where are we headed?”“There’s someone who wants to see you regarding the issues about the ones we dealt with last time. So, we’re heading to the meeting place first.”“…So you wasted time talking about the Saintess while someone was waiting for us?”“Ahem. Once the topic of love advice comes up, it needs to be finished properly…”“…Let’s leave it at that. If you start again, I’ll just return to my dorm.”After a short exchange of banter, they arrived at a small rest area on the edge of the outskirts.It was a place for the night patrol guards and landscapers who managed the forest to take a short break.Yeomyeong brushed off the leaves and grass that stuck to him while running and grabbed the doorknob of the rest area.However, just as he was about to open the door, familiar voices could be heard from inside the rest area.- What’s taking them so long? I hope nothing serious happened.A somewhat cold, feminine voice. It was the voice of the silver-haired elf he had met in Incheon.- Well, who on earth is supposed to arrive seeing that they’re so late? I’ve never seen a master like this before.The voice of the rat bastard who had attacked Mr. Jang Man, a voice he had heard in Incheon and Manchuria.And as soon as Yeomyeong recognized it, blood rushed to the back of his head.While he took deep breaths to suppress his Killing Aura, the last voice he heard was…- Ah, you’ve finally arrived.It was the very same voice he heard every day over the school’s broadcast.